Tattoos and Scars
by dukefan01
Summary: A song-fic for SHuhei, i thought it fit him. Tattoos and scars by montogomry gentry. i claim no right to song or bleach.


**Alright, I heard this song and thought SHUHEI! I obviously don't own Bleach and I don't own the song Tattoos and scars. That belongs to Montgomery Gentry and the writter. I hope you enjoy this and let me know what you think!**

Shuhei Hisagi sat at the bar. He was a young man, looking around the age of nineteen with spikey black hair and steel grey eyes. His uniform had a low cut without any sleeves and tied to his waste was his zanpakuto. He wore a black chocker that had two matching upper arm bands and on the left arm was the lieutenants badge of squad nine. Down the right side of his face was three scars, and on his left side was a blue-grey strip that went under his eye and a black sixty-nine on his cheek. An old bartender with a cigerette in his mouth brought him a bottle of sake. "Thanks." Shuhei muttered. He's never drank alone before, usally he had Izuru Kira with him when he drank, but this time Izuru was out with Iba and Renji. Shuhei liked all three of them, but he didn't feel like dealing with the problems that occurred when a larger number of people drank together, so he just went alone. Suddenly the door opened and a cool breeze from the night air came in, along with a young man who looked to be much younger than Shuhei. The boy made his way to the bar and sat down, only three seats away from where the lieutenant sat.

"Can I get a bottle of sake?" he asked. The bartender had a look of surprise cross his face as he raised an eyebrow. "Don't look surprised old man, I'm older than you think." the boy said. 'I hope so, he doesn't look all that old.' Shuhei thought to himself, mentaly kicking himself for evesdropping. "If I was the talking kind, I could tell you a thing or two, and since you didn't ask, let me show you my tattoos." the boy said. Now he had Shuhei's full attention as well as the bartenders as he pulled down the collar of his shirt to show a red rose. "I got this one in district seventy-three, in some back old alley dump." he said, letting it go. Then he held out his arm and Shuhei could just make out a beautiful bald eagle. "Picked this eagle up in district eighty, man I sure was good and drunk." he said, dropping his arm. "And you know the way I see it, if it gets any worse out there, a guy like me, hasn't got a prayer." he finished. After that the boy fell silent, looking down at the surface of the bar. The bartender turned around to get him a drink, but instead of a bottle of sake, he gave him a cup and filled it with coffee.

"This one's on me." he said. After that he tock a long drag on his cigerrete and laid it in an ashtray as he rolled up his sleeve. Shuhei could make out two nasty scars on the mans arm. One on the upper part of his arm that travled down to his elbow. The other was on the bottem part, it wasn't as long as the first, but it was just as prominent.

"Take a good look here my friend, do you see what these are? Just my ragged old and jagged ordinary scars." he said. Shuhei and the boy were looking at the man so intently, not letting anything else distract them from what he had to say. "I got this one outside the seireitei, in a rebellion that occurred before you were born." he said, pointing to the one on his upperarm. "And I got this one when I was half your age working on my daddy's farm." he said pointing the smaller one. "And you know the way I see it, son you've aint seen what I've seen, cause tattoos and scars are different things." he said. Shuhei let his words sink into his head. The man was right, they were different things. "I've been here for all these years and what I know is this, if you look and listen close, a man will show you what he is. You know the way I see it, you've been around but you're still green, cause tattoos and scares are diffeerent things." he said. The younger man nodded and drank his coffie, but Shuhei's mind was trying to figure out what this man ment. Without really noticing, his hand had travled to his face. His face that was completely covered in both tattoos and scars. Without having even taken a sip of his drink, Shuhei put some money on the table and stood up, leaving behind the undrank bottle.

'I've been here all these years and what I know is this, if you look and listen close, a man will show you what he is. You know the way I see it, you've been around but your still green, cause tattoos and scars are different things' the old mans voice echoed in the lieutenants head. Tattoos…they were visual representation's of something important, like a symbol. Shuhei's hand went to cover the left side of his face. The sixty-nine was a symbol of his past. He was saved by Kensei Muguruma all those years ago as a child. That tattoo ment something to Kensei, and it ment something to him, only something different. To Shuhei it was a symbol of his determination and will to be strong and brave, like the man who saved his life. The blue-grey strip was a symbol of his uniqu individualism, as it was a symbol for him and him alone. Something that was just his that no one else had that would let people know he was only himself. Scars… his hand moved over to cover the right side of his face, the one with three scars engulfing it. Scars were not symbols exactly, more like reminders of a hard learned lession. They always reminded him of how weak he was. He failed to save the students, his friends, even himself. He was weak and had to be saved. These scars always remind him of his foolishness, thinking he even stood a chance and remind him that he must get stronger. Tattoos and scars, symbols and reminders with an even bigger difference between them. A tattoo was a chosen symbol, something that the person chose to put into their skin because it ment something to them. The scars were not a choice. They were a visual representation of a lession, not chosen but forced onto them, engraved into the skin as a life long reminder of that lession. Shuhei then covered his face with both hands. 'I wonder, what do these tattoos and scars show people about me? What kind of person do they show I am?' Shuehi wondered to himself. He stopped walking so he could think better.

"Hey Shuhei! There you are!" came a shout. Shuhei emerged from his hands to see Renji waving him over. Shuhei felt a small smile cross his lips as he saw Izuru and Iba as well. Realizing that his time to dwell was done, he gave a silent chuckle. The old man was right, Shuhei has been around, but he is still green in the ways of the world, cause tattoos and scars are different things.

_Tattoos and scars: Montgomery Gentry_

Young kid stepped in from the cold, and ordered up a drink. Said 'Don't look surprized old man I'm older than you think. If I was the talking kind, I could tell you a thing or two, and since you didn't ask, let me show you my tattoos.

'He said I got this Rose in Memphis, in some back old alley dump. Picked this eagle up in Dallas, man I sure was good and drunk. And you know the way I see it, if it gets any worse out there, a guy like me, hasn't got a prayer.'

The old man poured some coffee, said 'This one's on me' sat down his cigerette and rolled up his sleeve. Said 'Take a good look here my friend, do you see what these are? Just my ragged old and jagged ordinary scars.'

He said 'I got this one in Paris, in a war 'fore you were born, and this one when I was half your age working on my daddy's farm. And you know the way I see it, Son you've ain't seen what I've seen, cause tattoos and scars are different things.'

He said 'I've been here all these years and what I know is this, if you look and listen close, a man will show you what he is. You know the way I see it, you've been around but your still green, cause tattoos and scars are different things.'

Young kid stepped in from the cold, and ordered up a drink. Said 'Don't look surprized old man I'm older than you think.'


End file.
